recommended resources

A list of some of the resources that have helped or encouraged me in some way...

the Holy Bible...this is not just a help or encouragement to me, but a lifeline.  God's Word to mankind.  I hear people sometimes ask how one can find the right translation.  According to the ministers at the evangelical church I attend, and from what I have seen in the in-depth Greek Sunday School class I am currently involved in; the original King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), and the New American Standard Bible (NASB), are said to be translated most closely from the original Hebrew and Greek.  I myself like best the original King James Version.  If I have difficulty figuring out the old English wording, I will cross-reference with the New King James and New International Version (NIV) (1973).  I hesitate to recommend the New International Version any more because in 2011 they came out with a new translation which differed greatly from the original Hebrew and Greek in some things.  But the NIV from the 1970's and 1980's is still considered fairly accurate, although not as close as the King James Versions.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis,  copyright 1952.  This is a collection of transcripts of what were originally broadcast talks by C.S. Lewis.  Very much a living room-armchair conversational feel to it.  One of the books that helped me most in figuring out what I believed and why.

The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge, copyright 1997.  A book I go back and revisit  again from time to time.  The romance of the Creator and His yearning to give us a place in His great Story...it's just an awesome book.

 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries  
The subtitle of their page is "Helping the thinker believe, and the believer think."  Which is a very apt description.  This website has a tremendous amount of resources, some of which I have not used.  The one I have used most, which I highly recommend, is the daily "Just Thinking" radio broadcast which is available to listen to online through this website.  Often there was much comfort for me in the teachings aired on this broadcast, even when my addled brain couldn't concentrate well enough to read my Bible.

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss, entered according to Act of Congress, 1869; copyright 1880.  A fictional diary of a young girl, beginning on her sixteenth birthday; and continuing throughout her life until she concludes it on a sickbed--possibly her death bed.  In it she chronicles how she meets Christ in the joys and trials of marriage, motherhood, and prolonged illnesses.  A popular classic, it has been reprinted, and I believed updated and abridged are also available...i personally believe updated, abridged versions of most books are for the birds.  :)  Some of the wording of the original takes a bit of thought because we don't speak like that anymore...but well worth reading and figuring out.  I have read and re-read this book many times and i marvel at how old it is, but how it is still so very applicable to life now.  Times have changed, but the human heart is the same, whether the year of our Lord is 1830, 1930, or 2014.

Rose From Brier by Amy Carmichael.  First published 1933.  My copy is a 1973 edition, reprinted in America by permission of S.P.C.K. Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone Road, London.
 The introduction page begins:  "From thy brier shall blow a rose for others."  Letters written originally to the Dohnavur Fellowship Invalids' League, but now shared with any ill who care to have this rose from our brier.
 I have been reading through this book, taking a chapter each day; and I have found these letters to be a wonderful help and comfort, often speaking to exactly the struggle i face at the time i am reading.  Miss Carmichael speaks from the depth of a heart that is learning Christ through pain.